Fireheart's Exile: Branch
by Peters6221
Summary: Fireheart finds himself exiled after a battle with rogues. When he leaves, he finds a young kit named Branch to care for. The alternate storyline that breaks away after 4 chapters is my Fireheart's exile: Brotherhood.
1. Chapter 1: Confrontation

**I don't own warriors blah blah blah disclamer stuff.**

**Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Fireheart ran into camp, panting. "Rogues…attacking…Thunderclan…in danger!"

Tigerclaw was already in camp with the group of rogues Fireheart had suspected that _he_ brought. Tigerclaw's familiar battle cry rang out, and Fireheart looked over to see him attacking a rogue, confusing him. Maybe he was wrong about Tigerclaw leading them here?

Fireheart was bowled over by a large gray tabby. The rogue had him pinned on his back, and it raked at Fireheart's exposed belly. Fireheart screeched, and he kicked out the tabby's leg from underneath so that he could get away. He looked around for Tigerclaw, but he was nowhere to be seen. He feared the worst and started running to Bluestar's den, but yet again he was pinned down by the same rogue. And this time he wasn't letting go. Fireheart helplessly struggled while the rogue was about to go for the killing bite.

Suddenly the weight disappeared of his back with a jerk. Sandstorm had knocked him off. Fireheart tried to get his bearings, but was dazed. He saw the rogues finally running out of camp. Thunderclan was safe.

But he forgot about Tigerclaw. He heard Tigerclaw yowl behind him. "Bluestar has been killed in the fight!"

The Clan went silent. No one knew that Bluestar had only one life left. Except Fireheart.

"But, Bluestar still had three lives left, didn't she?" Runningwind asked.

"No." Fireheart spoke out before he realized what he was doing. "She only had one. She told me this not too long ago."

"Why didn't you say something, kittypet!" Tigerclaw growled. "The Clan deserves to know these things!"

"She gave me strict orders not to tell anyone until she died. She didn't want the Clan to worry about her."

"These have to be lies. Why would she tell a kittypet but not her deputy?"

"Maybe she didn't trust you." Once again he had spoken out without thinking.

Tigerclaw was furious. "What kind of talk is that? Why wouldn't she trust me?"

Fireheart took a deep breath. This was his chance to expose Tigerclaw's perfidy. But what if they didn't believe him? He figured that he was getting in over his head anyway by confronting Tigerclaw in front of the clan. "I told her about Redtail."

He could see a speck of fear in Tigerclaw's eyes, which was quickly replaced by anger. "Redtail? You didn't even know him! What could you possibly know about him?"

"I know how he died. And it wasn't Oakheart who killed him. It was you." Tigerclaw was about to speak, but Fireheart cut him off. He knew that if he was going to win this battle, he couldn't let Tigerclaw say anything. He had to get his story in first. "I've spoken to several cats who were at that battle, and all of them tell the same story: Oakheart died in a rock fall before Redtail died, and Riverclan fled. That leaves you and Redtail the only two cats there, and one of you somehow didn't make it back."

"How would you know any of this?"

"At gatherings I've asked around," he meowed, not daring to say he actually snuck into Riverclan territory to get this information.

"So you trust Riverclan cats more than me?"

"To be blunt, yes. Some of them, at least. I doubt the entire Clan would lie unless they were lied to by the cats at the battle." He glared at Tigerstar accusingly. "And Ravenpaw. I've asked him multiple times over the course of moons, and he remembers the same thing: you killing Redtail."

"How could you ask him? He's dead!"

"He's not. He ran away because you were spreading rumors that he was a spy, and he suspected that you were going to kill him for knowing. He was too scared of you to come forward about it himself, but he told me. I've talked to him in the moons since he left."

"So you think I'm a murderer because some Riverclan cats and a dead cat told you so?"

"It's evidence. More than you have. You are the only cat here that knows exactly what happened, but I have a pretty good guess."

"Fireheart," he heard Whitestorm speak, "this is ridiculous! I would have never expected something like this from you." He started to panic. He was riding on the clan's support, but he was losing it.

"I've heard enough of you kittypet. You shouldn't be here. Ever since you've come, you've never been able to adhere to the warrior code. You lied to the clan about multiple things, like Ravenpaw and Bluestar's lives. And now you're accusing your new leader of murder. You're deteriorating, Fireheart. You had a good run, but now you are just becoming a burden. I don't think you should live here anymore."

Fireheart was furious! Tigerclaw was trying to get rid of him. And he acted like he was trying to be nice about it, too!

"Fireheart, he is right. You haven't done much to help your cause recently, too. You lied about Ravenpaw being alive, you lied about Bluestar's lives, you lied about Graystripe's affair, and now you expect us to believe Tigerclaw is a murderer? I'm sorry, but I don't think you should stay, either." Other cats started to meow in agreement.

This was devastating coming from Whitestorm. The entire clan would side with Whitestorm now. He was on the verge of losing his home.

**These first four chapters are shared between this and my other story, "Fireheart's Exile: Brotherhood."  
They share the same setup but follow Fireheart along different paths.  
Also, those of you who have read this before may notice some changes. I go through and edit minor details later, and I figured I needed to update this thing after my long break from writing.**


	2. Chapter 2: Exile

**Still don't own warriors.  
Chapter 2: Exile**

"Fireheart, I believe I would have the support of the clan if I were to exile you. And I will."

Fireheart flinched at the words. He… he had just lost his home. He lost everything he worked so hard and fought for all these moons.

He walked towards the gorse tunnel and he could feel the entire clan staring at him. No one said a word. He walked by Sandstorm, who turned away from him in disgust. It was such a shame, too. She was finally turning into a great friend. _Fire alone can save our clan_. The prophecy streaked through his head like a falling star. He turned around and looked across camp.  
"You will regret this. One of these days, you will need me. I don't know why or when, but you will."

He padded out the tunnel before he could see a reaction. He didn't care anymore. He was too devastated to care. Fireheart figured Tigerclaw would put a death sentence on him, so he decided to leave Thunderclan territory. He walked along the river until he was on the side of the gorge in Windclan territory. He knew it was dangerous to be there, but it wasn't any different than standing in Thunderclan's, with one difference: Windclan didn't have a death sentence on him. He looked over the gorge, and took a few steps back. He prepared himself to jump.

Was he really ready to go through with this? He had just lost everything he had worked so hard for all his life, and there was no point to living anymore. But he didn't feel any cat should die like this. Throwing himself off a cliff in despair? Hardly an honorable death.

He heard a voice behind him. It was Tallstar. "Just because you brought us back doesn't give you free passage on our territory. What are you even doing here?"

"I was just leaving." He just walked upstream and went beyond Windclan territory.

**Short chapter. These get longer so don't be discouraged. I'm thinking of combining this and ch. 3 after I finish the story.**

**So, he didn't end up killing himself. I hate it when these "Fireheart exile" stories end in suicide, so I won't do that to you, dear readers. And I don't want to be chased out of here by an angry mob with torches and pitchforks, so I'll keep him alive.**


	3. Chapter 3: What should I Do?

****Chapter 3: What Should I Do?****

He wandered up the river until nightfall. He found a small cardboard box on its side and he crawled into it, and then he knocked it over so he was under it. He heard rain start to fall, along with thunder in the distance. The thunder only reminded him of Thunderclan. It made him feel lost and lonely. He drifted off to sleep with the soft patter of rain on his box.

The next morning, he woke up in a daze. For a moment he had forgotten yesterday's events, but it came flooding back to him like a badger's blow. He wondered what he should do with his life.

Should he try to join Windclan? _No, I couldn't just join another Clan like that. It's not easy_. Maybe he could try being a kittypet again. _Maybe. My former owners should be excited to see me again_. He made the trek back down the river until it started to look familiar again. It then occurred to him that he could try to live with Ravenpaw and Barley. Why wasn't this the _first_ thing he thought of? He would have friends to live with.

He approached to old barn they lived in. "Ravenpaw!" he called out.

"Fireheart? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Tigerclaw killed Bluestar. Or at least I think he did. Since he was leader, he exiled me, so now I don't have a home. I was wondering if I could come live with you."

Ravenpaw stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before he slowly responded, "Sure. I don't mind the company. I really feel horrible for you. You worked so hard to do what no other cat could do, and you lost it all at once, and not from any fault of your own. You deserve a nice place to live."

"Thanks."

He stayed with Ravenpaw for a few days, but he grew restless. He couldn't stand a sedentary lifestyle. He had to _do_ something. He had to have a purpose. He explained this to his friend, and he parted ways with him. He was a rogue again.

**Still short. I'll try to make them longer I promise**

**Sorry, that chapter was boring. And I know I didn't make Ravenpaw sound sympathetic, but I tried. Just pretend that Ravenpaw was extremely sympathetic. Strong emotion is still a kink in my not-really-developed creative writing skills that I'm trying to work out with this thing. I'll try to fix it when this is finished.**


	4. Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home

**Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home**

He cut back across the back of Windclan territory and wandered into the twolegplace. He went back to visit his old home. He didn't have any intention of staying, but he visited just because he could. When he got there, he saw a new kittypet. She was a brown tabby.

"Hello, there," she mewed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Fireheart. I used to live here. I'm looking for Smudge, actually."

"He went inside not too long ago. I doubt he would want to come back out."

"That's a shame. I wanted to talk to him before I go."

"Go where?"

"I've hit a rough patch in my life and I'm resorting to wandering."

"When you said you used to live here, why did you leave?" She sounded worried.

"I just wasn't fit for a kittypet lifestyle. My owners, well yours now, were great to me, but I just couldn't live like that. I went to live in the forest."

"You're a wild cat?"

"Well, I was, until a tyrant came to power and forced me out of my home. Now I don't know where to go."

"I'm sure my… _our_ owners would love to have you back. I could use someone to live with."

"No, thanks. I couldn't go back to being a kittypet after living in the forest. It's just not who I am."

"Well, whatever suits you. I wish you well in your new life. It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you, too. What did you say your name was again?"

"Hattie."

"Well, nice to visit, but I should be going. And tell Smudge that Rusty said 'hi.'"

Just as he was about to go, he saw a bird perch itself on a fencepost and he instinctively dropped into a hunter's crouch.

"I guess I haven't eaten in a day or so…" he muttered.

"I have some food if you want it." Hattie obviously didn't understand that he wanted the _bird_ for a meal, not twoleg food.

Fireheart jumped up at the bird and hooked it on his claws and drug it down to the ground. He finished it off with a killing bite. He glanced over at Hattie, and she looked horrified.

"What did you do _that_ for?"

"Food. What do you _think_ we ate in the forest? Grass?"

"I…I don't know. But why would you kill something like that for food?"

"You've obviously never had real meat. Here, have a bite."

"No-no thanks."

"Fine. Your loss. It tastes great." He finished his meal and buried the bones, with Hattie watching with the same horrified look on her face.

**This chapter is here just for the sake of fluff. Filler material. Unimportant stuff between interesting events. Whatever you want to call it. ****This is where the two different endings branch off. I recommend reading the other one first, because _this_ ending is better to leave off with. But, as I'm working on both of them, feel free to read both at once. Doesn't truly matter, I guess. (But really, look at Brotherhood. I've worked on it for about as long, but it has 600something views compared to the 2600 of this one. It needs love, too).**


	5. Chapter 5: Decisions

****Chapter 5: Decisions****

He said his goodbyes to Hattie and went back towards the river.

_Alright. Let's think through this…_

***Up in Starclan***

"What should we do about Fireheart?" Spottedleaf mewed.

"I do not know," Lionheart responded.

"You know as well as the rest of us that Fireheart was not meant to leave," Redtail put in.

"Yes, I understand. But what has happened has already happened, and we aren't going to change it. Fireheart is gone from Thunderclan. For now, at least."

"He does not have to be in Thunderclan to save it."

"What do you mean, Spottedleaf?" Lionheart asked.

"Fire alone can save our clan. It was a prophecy I got before Bluestar first saw Fireheart. When we saw him, we knew that he had to be the fire."

"What if you were wrong?"

"No," Redtail cut in, "I knew of this prophecy too. I knew when I saw him that he was special. That Starclan had chosen him. All that happened to him was that Tigerclaw got in the way of it. And maybe Fireheart will return someday."

"And do we watch over him?" Lionheart asked.

"We'll see what he does. Then we decide."

***Real World***

_Now, what to do with myself? Where should I go? What should I do?_ Fireheart felt himself drowning in questions. _Let's start with the basic, easy questions. _

_Will I keep my warrior name or go back to my kittypet one? Warrior name. I still want to be a wild cat, not a kittypet. Am I still loyal to Thunderclan? Yes, just not to Tigerclaw. Will I keep my faith in the Warrior Code and Starclan? Definitely. You can't take that away from me._ There was a sigh of relief up in Starclan._ So, now I know that I am Fireheart, a loyal Thunderclan warrior who just got on bad terms with the new leader, but still have help from Starclan. I hope._

_So now that I know who I am, where should I go? Once again, easy questions. Do I remain wild, or go kittypet again? Wild. Never being a kittypet again. Now, do I stay around here or leave the forest and Clans behind? Well, I don't want to be caught around here again, so I guess I have to say goodbye to home, for now. Maybe I can try returning. _

_Alright, now where to? Up the river or downstream? Upstream. It leads away from Twolegplace. Now, I will deal with whatever happens and make decisions based on what I encounter. Remember, Fireheart, keep it to simple questions. I don't want to make it too hard. Rebuilding a life isn't easy, so don't make it harder for yourself._

***Starclan***

"So he remained loyal."

"You did not think he would, Redtail?" Redtail, Spottedleaf, and Lionheart all turned to see Bluestar. "I raised him better than that."

"You've come to join our discussion, then?"

"Yes, Lionheart. I heard his thoughts, though. I'm going to watch over him wherever he goes."

"But shouldn't you stay here and help Thunderclan?" Redtail challenged.

"Fireheart has kept his faith in us, so why shouldn't we keep our faith in him? He needs Starclan now more than ever. He needs _someone_ to watch over him, so I'm going with him."

"I'm with Bluestar," Spottedleaf meowed. "I think he deserves some help."

"Lionheart, Redtail, you can watch over Thunderclan now. Don't let that traitor Tigerclaw get away with anything. Understand?" Bluestar growled.

"Oh, Bluestar, even in Starclan you try to be my leader…" Lionheart laughed.

"So it is decided. The two of us will follow Fireheart and help him when necessary."

**Fireheart was not the only one to make 'decisions.'**


	6. Chapter 6: On My Way

**Chapter 6: On My Way**

Fireheart slipped silently along the river. The border here was always dangerous to him, but it was now more than ever. Both sides were hostile. It might actually have been safer to be in Rivercaln territory at this point. His body was tense, and he could feel his blood pulsing in his ears. He couldn't remember a time where he was this tense, this scared to be seen. By anybody. Everybody was hostile, now. Everyone would attack him on sight. He had to get out. Every time he stepped on a twig or even so such as rustled a leaf, he froze. Eventually, he worked his way to the gorge. He was between Riverclan and Windclan territory now. He relaxed. It was safer than the Thunderclan border. At least he could talk his way out of a conflict here.

"Fireheart? What are you doing sneaking through the gorge?" It was Onewhisker. He was on patrol with Tallstar. _At least they are the only two Windclan cats that like me. Lucky it's only them._

"I'd rather not explain."

"We have time," Tallstar meowed.

Fireheart scrambled up the side of the gorge to talk to them face-to-face.

"Bluestar was killed in a battle, so Tigerclaw took over. He exiled me because he didn't like me, basically."

"How'd he get away with _that_? It hardly seems like a valid reason."

"He pointed out every little mistake I've ever made and then acted as if it was the end of the world because I did them. I just can't believe everyone fell for his act."

"I can give you shelter for a while if you need."

"No, it would be better for you to not associate yourself with me. If Tigerclaw learned you were sheltering me, he would hold a grudge against you. And look where that same grudge got me."

"Ah, so that explains why you were here a few days ago. Still, are you sure you don't want some help?"

"No. It would be better for you to pretend this didn't happen. You don't want Tigerclaw- well I guess he's Tigerstar now- to find out about this. I should be on my way to another life. I hope to come back and visit, but until then, this is goodbye."

"I hate to see you end like this, but I guess it's fate. Goodbye, Fireheart. I do hope you come back eventually. After all, you are the one who saved my clan." Fireheart felt something. He could sense that there was something… more… to Tallstar's words. As if he truly cared about Fireheart…

Fireheart climbed back down the side of the gorge and continued upstream. He arrived at the cornfield beyond the gorge. The sun was starting to sink below the horizon. He found a place where the ground dipped and took some of the leaves off of the corn plants and made a make-shift nest. It was very rough, but it would have to do. He would probably have to deal with worse, anyway.

**I promise these chapters might get longer, and actually have content relevant to the storyline.**


	7. Chapter 7: New Beginning

**Chapter 7: New Beginning**

Fireheart woke up close to sunhigh. It had been the first time in a long time that he got all the sleep he wanted. He got up and stretched the stiffness out of his legs. The sun was warm, and it felt nice.

_Maybe I could get used to this. Just wandering around, making a new nest every night, just trying to survive on my own. I'm a trained warrior, so I can take care of myself. I might be able to go far enough and start a new life where being a forest cat doesn't matter. Where others wouldn't be afraid of me like kittypets around here would be._

He decided to see if he could find some prey amongst the corn. His eyes caught a slight rustling several rows away. He dropped into a hunter's couch instinctually. He felt exposed because he didn't have the thick underbrush like he did back home, but the mouse didn't seem to notice him. He jumped at the mouse and hooked it with his thorn-sharp claws and quickly gave it a killing bite before it could even let out a squeak. Just as he did, he saw a sparrow fly over him, so he leapt up and dragged it to the ground. It was dead before he hit the soft soil.

He started to bury them out of habit before moving on, but then he realized he didn't have to. _I can just eat these here, can't I? I don't have anywhere else to take them, so I might as well eat them. I guess I can just eat however much I want, too. Oh, I could really get used to this life._ He found that living in Thunderclan long enough had left him with a small stomach, so he wasn't really able to eat much.

He buried the bones and continued on his way down to the river. He started to make his way upstream and had made decent ground by nightfall. He found some boulders he could sleep under and curled up down there.

He slept in even later the next day. He had his morning hunt and went on his way up the river. He heard a dog barking in the distance and chains rattling. It sounded like it was a large dog, so Fireheart was glad that he was safe from it.

Days went by. Days turned into a week, then a few weeks. He had been slowly travelling for nearly 3 quarters of a moon, though he tended to wake up later and slow down as time went by. He finally came across a large group of twolegs, kits and older ones, playing in the river. _I may have been a kittypet, but I really don't get twolegs._ He figured it would be too risky to go right through them, as they would pick him up and toy with him. He decided to take the long way around. He had to cross a small thunderpath, but there weren't any monsters on it. The twolegs were lined up all along the banks of the river for quite a distance, so Fireheart had to keep moving along from far away. He stopped and sat down for a moment to rest. He felt a twoleg's massive paws grab him from behind. He tried twisting away from it, but it wouldn't let him go. He unsheathed his claws and hissed at it, and it promptly dropped him. He ran away as fast as he could in a random direction, hoping that another twoleg wouldn't get him.

When he slowed down to get his bearings, he realized that he had lost track of the river and found himself in a twolegplace. _Maybe it's time for me to get away from the river. Let's see if there is anywhere in this twolegplace that I might be able to live._ He hopped up onto a fence to get a better view of the area. In the distance he saw trees. A lot of trees. Maybe large enough woods to support him. He got excited and ran towards there as fast as possible, weaving his way through gardens and over fences. He finally got to the edge of the woods and looked into it with the same excitement that he had as a kittypet. It may not be the same forest he had, but it was close enough. He found a fallen log that reminded him of the elder's den. There was already moss covering the fallen tree, so it was easy for him to scrape some off and make his own nest towards the back of the log. He found it easy to sleep because he felt at home here.

**Doesn't take much to make him happy, doesn't it? Just give him some trees and he's set for life.**


	8. Chapter 8: New Neighborhood

**Chapter 8: New Neighborhood**

He woke up the next morning and crawled out of the log to stretch. He decided to go for an early morning hunt. Prey was plentiful here, and not very alert. They didn't seem to know that a cat was a threat.

The next thing on his list to-do list was to get acquainted with the local cats. It wasn't as important as knowing clanmates, but it would be nice to have some new friends. Through the underbrush, he saw a small white kittypet sitting on a fencepost. Fireheart stepped out of the bushes.

"Hey," he meowed to it. The kittypet stared at him, wide-eyed, before turning around and bolting away. Fireheart turned around to see if something was there, but he quickly realized that the kittypet was afraid of _him_. _Really? Kittypets are still afraid of me here? Well, maybe that one was just skittish. He looked young anyway._

He tried wandering around the perimeter of the woods, which was about a quarter of the size of Thunderclan territory. Enough to sustain him and maybe a couple more cats, but that's it. He ran across about five more kittypets, all of which ran away before he could get two words in. Fireheart started cutting back through the woods. He kept his eyes out for any familiar landmarks. He noticed a small pile of rocks. He decided to take a right at the rocks, and he found a large, old, oak tree that didn't look like it was going to fall down any time soon, near the border. He turned around and headed back across to the rocks, and kept going. There was a small sand pit, kind of like the training hollow back home. He once again made his way back to the rocks and proceeded the way he was originally going. He was surprised to find that it led him straight back to his log. The sun was starting to set and he went into his log, only to find that he wasn't the only one there.

**Very short chapter. I don't like how short I made it, but I made a cliffhanger for you! (I might stick Ch. 9 with this later, I just did this break for dramatic effect)**


	9. Chapter 9: New Friend

**Chapter 9: New Friend**

There was a kit sitting in there. No more than six moons old. He was brown tabby with a white chest and paws. The kit was frozen in fear.

"You-you're a wild cat, are-aren't you?" it stammered.

"I guess you could say that," Fireheart responded, trying not to be threatening.

"My mama told me to watch out for you when I went out. I-I just didn't think you would find me…"

"Watch out for _me_ specifically? I haven't done anything to have a reputation yet, have I?"

"You're a wild cat. That's enough. You all haven't come this far before. We've all heard stories about the cats in the woods. We didn't think you would come as far as the park, though."

"What are you talking about?" Fireheart tilted his head. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you think. I'm new around here, that's all. I'm not going to attack anyone unless they attack me first."

"You-you're not?" the kit asked.

"If I wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I already have tried?"

"I guess… so are you friendly then?"

_ Oh, kits. To them, if someone's not an enemy, they're a friend. _"Yes, I guess I could use a friend."

"My name's Branch. What's yours?"

"I'm Fireheart. I know my name may seem weird to you, but I guess I'm weird. Now, you should get back home. It's getting late."

"I guess my mama will start worrying about me."

Fireheart stepped aside to let the kit out of the log.

"See you tomorrow!" Branch called over his shoulder.

This made Fireheart smile. Someone who actually wanted to spend time with him? Maybe that little tom would be a good friend for Fireheart. He yawned and went to curl up in his nest.

**Very short again. I fear this may happen lot in the middle because I just try to write in stuff to fill space between the big points.**


	10. Chapter 10: Proposition

**Chapter 10: Proposition**

He woke up later in the morning with an empty stomach. When he exited his log, he saw Branch approaching.

"Hello, Branch" he called out to the kit.

"Hi Fireheart! Where are you going?"

"Hunting."

"Can I come along? It sounds fun!"

"Sure, just don't scare prey away." Branch seemed to get the message and kept up silently. It didn't take long to find a mouse. Fireheart dropped into his hunting crouch, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Branch clumsily attempting to mimic him. He stifled a purr of amusement and honed back in on the mouse. He slowly crept closer, slipping silently through the brush, before pouncing onto the mouse and killing it. Branch stared in amazement at Fireheart's experience.

"How so you move that smoothly and silently?" the kit asked in bewilderment.

"Lots of experience. I've been hunting most of my life."

"You hunt every day?"

"I need to eat, don't I?"

"You eat mice? I know some older cats who hunt some, but they just leave the prey there. Never heard of them eating them before."

"That's because they hunt for the fun of it, for sport. I hunt for survival. Kittypets never seem to understand hunting for food and eating real meat until you give them a mouse. Thing is, you never do that because then they'll hunt on your territory for a snack when their twoleg already gives them plenty of food at home. But, since this territory is more than large enough for me, you can go ahead and try mouse if you want."

"Re- really? Does it taste good?"

"Better than anything a twoleg will give you every day."

Fireheart gave the mouse over to Branch. The young tom took a small bite of it.

"Mmmmmm…"

"Good, isn't it? I'll never forget my first mouse. Best thing I've ever eaten. It was when I was around your age."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I remember all of that day. Best day of my life. I'll never forget it."

"What happened?"

"I found the Clan."

"The Clan?"

It hit Fireheart that kittypets never knew about the clans, except maybe his own father. And especially no one up here.

"It's hard to explain, really. And far away…" Fireheart trailed off.

"Did something happen? Where aren't you there now?"

"I… I got kicked out. No fault of my own though," he added with a growl. "Tigerclaw just got rid of me because I was a threat to him."

"Why were you a threat to him? It seems like a valid reason to get rid of you, no offense."

"No, you don't understand. I figured out he murdered his way to being leader, and I tried to warn everyone, but he threw me out before I could convince them of the truth. I just hope Tigerclaw hasn't run everything into the ground. And that he hasn't murdered anyone else… Look, I shouldn't be telling you this. It'll only scare you. Just know that I won't hurt you."

"I trust you. But I'm curious about the Clan. What was it like?"

"You really want to know, don't you? I guess I was just as curious at your age." _ And that curiosity is why I'm not still a kittypet right now._ "Back where I'm from, there are four warrior Clans that share the forest, Windclan, Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Thunderclan. They've been there for more generations then any cat can count. Constant fights for territory, though the borders are usually firmly set. Every clan is just big enough for its territory. Fighting and sickness keep the population low enough that we usually don't starve to death, even in leafbare, though it is hard."

"Cats die a lot?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes cats that you're close to. There's no way around that; it's a fact of life. But, at the very least, it's fairly civilized. We live by the Warrior Code, a code of honor every cat is bound to and taught from birth. Loyalty to the clan is the most vital part of the code. You must be willing to die and suffer great pain for your clan, if necessary. Traitors are either executed or exiled."

"So why wasn't Tigerclaw exiled?"

"Because no one would believe me when I accused him of murder. See, he's this massive cat with claws longer than you think possible. He's been a strong, powerful warrior for longer than I've been alive, and I'm just some young kittypet."

"What's wrong with being a kittypet?" Branch almost seemed offended and puffed out his chest a little to seem tough.

Fireheart sighed. "Nothing, it doesn't matter if you're a kittypet or not. Or at least it shouldn't. But no, since I don't have warrior blood, I'm not supposed to be fit for Clan life. But I've worked my tail off and accomplished than most warriors would dream of doing in a lifetime. I've saved everyone's life so much that they may as well have made _me_ leader, out of lifedebt if nothing else. I do just as well, if not better, than everyone else." Fireheart had to stop his anger. Nothing he said now would change a thing. "Even when I was an apprentice, training to be a warrior when I was as young as you, I was doing better than most. Being an apprentice could arguably be the best time of my life. It was nice while it lasted though. I would have liked to stay, but I guess not. It's nice having warrior training, though. Being able to fend for myself has been nice."

"Maybe you could train me."

"What?"

"You could train me to be a warrior. I want to, and you would feel closer to home."

"I suppose I could. I need something to do, so having an apprentice should occupy me well enough. Just as long as your mother lets you."

"She'll probably be happy that I found a friend. You should come with me to meet her."

"I don't know… I have a tendency to anger mothers."

"She's probably won't get angry."

"Fine, just know that I'm good at saying the wrong thing."

"Come on, I'll show you the way."

**A nice long chapter for you guys because the last couple were short. And I posted this and chapter 9 both at once because of my long break.**


	11. Chapter 11: Trauma

**Chapter 11: Trauma**

**I would just like to say that I hated writing this chapter and I hated having to decide to do this. I'm so sorry to all of you having to read what will happen. If you think you may not want to read it, skip to the bottom.**

"You're sure your mother won't have an issue with any of this?"

"I've told you, she won't. If it makes me happy, she will let me."

They padded towards twolegplace when Fireheart noticed some scratches and cuts along Branch's body.

"You been in a fight recently?" Fireheart dared ask. The kit didn't seem to come across as particularly strong or mean, so Fireheart got curious.

The question seemed to make Branch uncomfortable. "No, our twoleg just threw something at us last night. One of those things that shatters when it hits the ground and is sharp."

Fireheart remembered when he was retrieving Windclan from exile and twolegs threw something like that at him. But those were twolegs who didn't seem…quite right. Ordinary housefolk would never do something like that, would they?

"Do your twolegs do that much?"

"He does it often enough."

"Why don't you and your mother run away?"

"Where would we go? No other housefolk around here will accept a mother with a kit, and we can't fend for ourselves. We're stuck with him."

Fireheart felt horrible for this kit. At least _his_ past owners were kind to him and cared about him. Branch is mistreated, only getting care from his mother.

They were close to where Branch lived when they heard a twoleg yelling.

"He yells a lot. We're not even sure who he yells at, but he takes it out on us most of the time."

They looked in through the window and froze in terror. Fireheart stared wide-eyed as the twoleg kicked Branch's mother full force, her shriek being cut off by impact with the wall. Branch tried to cry out to her, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"Stay quiet" Fireheart hissed under his breath. "We don't want it to find us too." Fireheart tried to process the horror he just saw, but when he saw the twoleg storming away, yelling and seemingly incoherent, he knew it was his only chance to try to help Branch's mother. "Stay here" he ordered.

"But-"

"Stay!" Fireheart bolted into the house to drag the queen's body out when he realized she was still barely alive. "Don't be afraid; I'm here to help."

She just let out a quiet moan to show she was still slightly responsive. Fireheart dragged her out of the twoleg nest without being noticed and brought her to Branch, who was starting to cry.

"You'll be safe out here."

"Branch…" she moaned, trying to crawl towards her kit. She slowly turned her head to Fireheart. "He brought you to see me, didn't he? Well, I'm glad he's finally found a good friend, one who's brave and strong and kind. You can take care of him, won't you?" Fireheart felt his heart lurch. Take care of this kit he'd hardly met? He hadn't wanted kits of his own, not for a while anyway. He didn't even know how to take care of one. "Please, I can't anymore."

"M-M…mama? Mama don't leave me!" Branch ran up to her and pressed into her flank as hard he could. "No mama! Please don't go! I don't want to be alone!" The dying queen held her kit into her chest one last time.

"That tom… he'll take care of you. I don't know how I know, but he will take _great_ care of you."

"No…" Branch started sobbing his eyes out when she went limp, and Fireheart couldn't hold back a few tears of his own. He'd never seen something so horrible, so heart wrenching.

"Come on," he murmured. "Let's at least give her a proper burial." Fireheart took her body back to the woods near where his log was and buried her.

"I guess you're staying with me now. Come on, we need to make you a nest in here."

**I hate that. I hated writing that. I hated having to think about putting that in the story. I hate that person. I am making it canon in this fanfic that their owner got arrested for animal cruelty. Let's say that some other person saw him do that and reported him and now he's in jail forever for it. I'm sorry that you had to read that. I would like to make it known that I do not condone violence towards pets or animals in general in ANY way, and this is a lesson on how horrible hitting your pet is.**

**People who chose not to read: Basically, Branch wants to bring Fireheart to his mother, and it's revealed that his owner is a guy who is constantly drunk and throws bottles at him and his mother. The twoleg kills his mother and Branch goes to live with Fireheart.**

**The reason I decided to put this in the story is because I was contemplating how to get Branch training under Fireheart. I didn't want to do that seemingly simple "he just starts visiting Fireheart and trains with increasing frequency." I needed an excuse for Branch to live with Fireheart, and him losing his protective mother was the 'best' way I could think of. I figured it was either this, or just random alley cats beating her to death, and that again didn't seem right. So that's how I got to writing this.**


	12. Chapter 12: Join Me

**Chapter 12: Join Me**

Fireheart found it hard to sleep. It wasn't just Branch's quiet crying all night that kept him up, either. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Branch's mother being killed. _ Will I ever be able to sleep again after that?_ Then he remembered Bluestar. This, he realized, was the first time he had even thought about her since his exile. _I'm sorry, Bluestar, I was just so distracted by my own pain to think about you, and then I got busy trying to find a home. I'll sit vigil for you tonight. I should have never neglected my mourning for you. _

Fireheart then shifted over to Branch and tried to calm the young cat down.

"It'll be fine. I know this was impossible for you to watch, and I can hardly bear it myself. But I can raise you. And I'll train you to be a warrior. I know it's hard losing your mother, but you couldn't have lived with her forever."

"I-I… I know. But I didn't want to see that happen. I've always been scared of that happening someday, but mama always told me that it would never happen."

"Be glad that you weren't there, too. If you hadn't come out to see me, you would have been with her and you might have been hurt, too."

Branch sniffed as he was starting to calm down. "I guess it was a lucky coincidence that I was here, wasn't it?"

"I don't believe in coincidences like that. There's always a reason things like that happen. It's almost never by chance."

"Really?"

"I may not be old and wise, but I've had more than my share of encounters like this."

"So you think there's… a higher power than ourselves?" Branch seemed to be distracted from his grief, at least momentarily.

"No, I don't think so. I know. As silly as this may sound to you, I've spoken with cats long since dead. Received prophecies and gotten advice from them."

"Who, spirits of the dead?"

Fireheart let out a little nervous chuckle. It sounded so silly, telling another cat about Starclan, especially when they weren't even _his_ warrior ancestors. But he couldn't doubt Starclan's existence and power. "Yes, collectively called Starclan. When each clan cat dies, their spirit goes to Starclan where they stay happily for eternity. Starclan cats help those still in the world of the living. They have the power to make dramatic events happen, but I don't think they use them to interfere much. They wouldn't do anything to try to hurt the clans, but they challenge us sometimes. I believe Starclan just nudges cats in the right direction and help them make decisions. Faith in Starclan is as important to loyalty to one's own clan, and it's something you'll have to accept if you want me to train you as a warrior. I should hope that you receive a dream from Starclan so they can prove their existence to you, as they did with me. But, I don't think it's likely. I only got dreams because I'm… well… special, you could say. I have their favor."

"I believe you, Fireheart. I'm ready and willing to believe and do whatever it takes to have you train me. And I'll try my best."

_Where did this kit get this determination to train from? I've hardly told him anything and he's willing to do anything I say so that he can be a warrior. _"It won't be easy, I can assure you. You won't have to go through quite what I had to do, but it will take a lot of your energy to train and get your strength up. Though I should think your training should be faster than most because we won't be doing anything else besides that. No patrols or any other friends to spend time with, just you and me working. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Yes. I have nothing else, anyway. I'll try my hardest. I won't disappoint you."

"Good. Now get some rest. We'll have a long day tomorrow. I'll be up all night taking care of some old business, if you need to talk it out more."

**Short again. Basically, this was my rendition of Starclan as being a kind of "divine watchmaker" type of higher being(s), where they only set people/cats on their paths but still allow for free decision. The next couple chapters will be meaningless kinda like this one too, so sorry for the boring month of November. I'm personally excited about Chapter 15 though.**

**I have the endings to my two current stories pretty much locked, but if you want me to write another ending, we can talk about it if you just PM me because I want to write more paths to this. ****For this, the "Fireheart goes straight to Bloodclan" thing isn't an option. It was initially the storyline paired with this, but I scrapped it because why would Fireheart just walk straight into Bloodclan and accept it? He would just move on until he found a decent life. That's why I ditched it and came up with the Brotherhood storyline.**


	13. Chapter 13: Training Begins

**Chapter 13:** **Training Begins**

"So, to be a warrior, you need to know the warrior code. First, your loyalty must be to your clan. If I were ever to take you home with me, it would be to Thunderclan. You are expected to defend your clan, with your life if necessary. Second, you aren't allowed to hunt or trespass on another clan's territory. Also, when hunting, prey is only to be eaten. You can't hunt for sport and just leave it there, and you must give Starclan thanks for it life. And elders and kits must be fed first. Apprentices can't eat until all the others are fed. Another thing is that the leader's word is law. Now, this… this is where I ran into trouble. I personally believe in doing the right thing whether a leader, or the warrior code for that matter, tells me to or not, and that's partially what lost me my home. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did, so follow this. And since we're separated from the clan, that means _my_ word is law to you. And if we are ever in fights, know that you should not kill to win your battles unless absolutely necessary, or if a cat has willfully disobeyed the warrior code and is a threat to other clans. We must also do daily border patrols. One thing that is also very important is that you may never neglect a kit in pain or danger, no matter whose it is or where it's from. Even if the kit is from another clan, you must try to save it. And the most important rule is that you must reject the life of a kittypet. You can't live with a paw in each world. It's something I learned to do quickly and something you need to learn quickly. You must learn to survive on your own, independent of twolegs caring for you. And that's what I hope to train you for."

"I have to know all that?"

"There's more to it, but mostly formalities like rules for choosing deputies and leaders and whatnot. Not much that pertains to you. But the main thing to take away is that you must be a loyal, noble warrior for your clan. I can easily remind you of the details, but if you can't grasp the general concept, there isn't much I can do for you."

"I think I get it."

"Good. Now, you need to know how to hunt. Crouch down like you're stalking something."

Branch clumsily lowered his body to the ground, horribly imbalanced. Fireheart let out a slight purr of amusement. "Almost as lopsided as Ravenpaw was," he muttered to himself. "Look, put more weight on your right paws. No- no, other right… there. See how this feels? Feel how much weight you're putting on each paw and memorize that feeling. Keeping perfectly balanced doesn't always mean having the same pressure on each paw. You have to know how much each leg needs to have on it. Now, pretend you're stalking something. Try to stay in that crouch while you're doing it." Branch took two steps before getting lopsided again. "No, stop, get your balance back together."

Branch looked down at the ground. "I can't do this, can I?"

"It'll come with time. You're no worse than any apprentice on his first day. My old friend Ravenpaw, whom I trained with, was worse off than you, even after some time training. It just takes time and practice to be good at these things. We just need you to have good control of your body so you can balance yourself properly and be better at fighting, when the time comes for that. Okay, now, get your balance right again…"

As the day went on, Branch was able to move with some sort of balance, although it wasn't great yet. But that would come in time. Besides, he was (hardly) able to (clumsily) catch a mouse (after a few failures), so he was in good shape for his first day.

The next day Fireheart made sure to wake up early, just to give Branch the feeling every apprentice hates: being woken up at the crack of dawn to train.

"Isn't it too early for this? The sun's hardly up."

"There's no such thing as too early for training. I know, it's rough. I hated it, and every apprentice that's ever lived has hated it. But it's something you should get used to. Now, we need to work on your balance." Fireheart padded out from under the log with Branch and leapt up on top of it. "Get up here." Branch followed, but almost fell off the top, his claws trying to find some sort of hold on the wet, slippery, almost slimy moss. "Now, lift one of your front paws off the log and stand straight up. If you're going to fall, try not to get yourself hurt." After a few moments of this, he told Branch to crouch down and still keep that paw up. He spent the entire morning making Branch balance himself on top of the log, and in the afternoon he showed improvements greater than he'd seen before. They shared a late dinner and went to sleep.

**So Branch fully embraces being an apprentice, even the "waking up early" part of it. Training will go on pretty much like this all day every day, so I can spare you about 90,000 pages about every single day for a few months.**

**By the way, I mess with the timeline a little bit as this goes on. Because who needs timeline continuity? It's too binding.**


	14. Chapter 14: The Past

**Chapter 14: The Past**

About two moons had gone by with rigorous training. After the first day of battle training, Fireheart plopped down in his nest in the old log.

"Fireheart, you've taught me everything it means to be in Thunderclan, but you haven't said much about yourself and what it meant to you."

"I-"

"Don't say that. You _always_ say that you 'don't want to talk about it.' But you should. I want to know."

"I… fine. What do you want to know?"

"What did the clan mean to you? How did you go from a kittypet to a clan cat? Why were you kicked out? Do you want to go back? Did you ever fall in l-"

"Slow down there. I can tell you've been thinking about this a lot." _A bit too much I think._ "When I was about 6 moons old, I ventured out into the woods where they lived. Our leader, Bluestar, invited me to live in the Thunderclan because they needed warriors, and I seemed fit. It was an odd move, especially for a leader as established as her. But I embraced clan life. I accepted everything, well nearly everything, without much question. Now, I never understood why the clans always have to fight each other instead of working together, but I've sort of come to terms with it. I was always mistreated by some of the others, though. There were those who thought only cats born with warrior blood could even become warriors, but I proved them wrong. Or at least kept trying to prove them wrong. Towards the end, only a few actually still hated me. I try not to remind myself I was born a kittypet. As much as I make a deal about how it's not important to be clan-born, I still wish I was sometimes. But being a part of Thunderclan was my life. I wish I never had to leave."

"Why did you leave then?"

"I've told you before; I was forced out."

"I know, but you never said what happened though."

"Fine. Our leader, Bluestar, was murdered by a warrior named Tigerclaw. But, see, he was a strong, powerful warrior, so no one suspected him of anything. He'd even murdered an old deputy and been able to get away with it because the only cat who saw was his apprentice, who he bullied right out of the clan. But I found out about it. But no one would have believed that 'noble' Tigerclaw would do such a thing, and I had to keep my mouth shut. I tried to warn Bluestar, but even she wouldn't listen. If_ she_ didn't believe me, no one would. So I couldn't tell anyone he was a traitor. Then he got a group of rogues, some of an old tyrant's previous followers, and had them attack our camp to distract everyone while he murdered Bluestar in her den. At least I think he did. I tried to stop him because I knew what he was trying to do, but I was too late for it. So he came to be leader, and he threw me out because I was a danger to him. No one would listen to me warn against him, so I left and ended up here. I wandered up the river for a few weeks before I got separated from it and found this place, and you met me within a day of getting here."

"That doesn't seem fair! He doesn't deserve to be leader if he's murdered his way there."

"I know. Though I should think he didn't keep up his 'nice guy' act too much longer after being leader. Maybe everyone sees that I'm right."

"Are you ever going to go back?"

"I don't know. Maybe someday, when I know they need me."

"How can you even tell? They can't find you up here, can they?"

"No, but I have a tendency to just know these things. Actually, I'm thinking of going down once I think you're ready to be a warrior. If they don't have a problem with Tigerstar, then… I guess I'll silently accept my defeat. But I would like to bring you to Thunderclan someday. But for now, you still need battle training. Now go to sleep, we need to wake up early tomorrow."

**Yeah whoops haven't posted in a little while. And this chapter is boring and is closer to a recap than anything else.**


	15. Chapter 15: Back Home

**Chapter 15: Back Home**

Whitestorm couldn't sleep. His eyes kept drifting towards Runningwind's now-empty nest. The tom was usually so quiet and reserved; why had he gone and done a thing like that?

His wasn't the only empty nest, though. Fireheart's was vacant, too. When he was exiled, it was avoided out of disgust because no one wanted to sleep in the same nest as a traitor.

But now it was empty out of respect.

Whitestorm had ended up moving next to Fireheart's nest. Well, 'moving' wasn't right. It implied he had a choice. He was forced out by Tigerstar's close friends who used their positions to get what they want.

It was only a couple moons since Tigerstar had taken over. At first, he seemed to be a strict, yet sensible leader. While the work was harder, there was more prey in the fresh-kill pile, the apprentices were getting trained faster, and the other clans didn't cross the border as much out of fear. Tigerclaw had increased patrol size and frequency, so the first Riverclan and Shadowclan hunting patrols to cross the border were met by a nasty surprise. Sure it was more difficult, but it there still wasn't all that much to complain about once you saw the results.

Then everything changed. After a group of rouges attacked camp, Tigerstar made more warriors stay in camp at all times. He didn't let cats out of camp unless specifically assigned to a patrol, or on permission if they went training with their apprentices. Though no one mentioned it, we all started to feel it was a bit excessive. After all, weren't the rogues driven off so easily, and with almost no injuries to the few warriors in camp? But everyone carried on. Soon, though, Tigerstar's friends started to be able to leave camp whenever they wanted, and I began to notice that either Dustpelt, Longtail, Darkstripe, or even Tigerstar himself was on every patrol, border or hunting. I suspect Runningwind noticed the same thing. He's quiet, but very observant, and not a fool.

Then came the rations. Tigerstar claimed that they should prepare themselves for leafbare by rationing prey out now to get used to there being less food. 'But shouldn't everyone eat while we can?' we had wondered. But still, no one objected out loud. Then some cats, including myself, quietly began to notice Tigerstar and his companions taking more than their fill. Runningwind had told Dustpelt that he had already eaten his ration for the day and that he shouldn't be taking any more. Dustpelt responded by rudely telling Runningwind to shut his mouth and lay off, or else he'll send Tigerstar onto him. Well, Runningwind went to Tigerstar first, where the leader had firmly denied Dustpelt eating. I bet they're enjoying their lives about now. And Sandstorm has even been clinging onto Dustpelt, probably for personal gain. Maybe there's actually something between though. I can't tell.

Tigerstar had grown more hostile, denying anyone any extra food or permission to go out, and began training the apprentices to try to kill the enemy if they intruded on Thunderclan territory. He started sending out more and more unnecessary patrols to tire us out.

Then today, Tigerstar was gone all morning. When he came back, he told us that he had acquired half of Riverclan's territory. We had no idea how. We didn't fight any battle that we were aware of. Why would Leopardstar agree to just give up her territory? It wasn't like her at all. Runningwind, Starclan bless him, had had it with Tigerstar. He was always impatient, which is why he never had an apprentice of his own, but he was never outspoken like this. It was completely out of his character to stand up against Tigerstar.

"How did you even acquire this territory?" he had asked when Tigerstar called the clan meeting to announce this. "Any deal you made with Riverclan is a bit suspect, I think, since there wasn't a fight to get it. Did you threaten Riverclan by telling them how you're training our apprentices to kill anyone they come across, even kittypets, or wandering loners who don't know better? Or did you just flat out say that you'll murder every single one of them if they don't hand it over right now?" Tigerstar had tried to speak, rage blazing in his eyes, but Runningwind wouldn't let him. "And why do we need all this new territory? We're already on rations and not eating the prey in our territory; why do we need more? Well, everyone but you and your little stuck-up over-privileged friends who gorge themselves on prey, and who you have stalking us whenever we leave camp, probably reporting everything we talk about. Is this just to make you feel better and to feel more powerful? And who is to say you'll stop here? If you can just waltz into Riverclan and get half their territory from a stubborn leader, what will stop you from taking all of it, and the other Clan territories?"

"Enough!" Tigerstar had roared in a volume no one had thought possible before. "Darkstripe, you know what to do with him!" Darkstripe jumped over and pinned Runningwind to the ground, while Tigerstar came down from the highrock and stood over Runningwind for a moment. Runningwind murmured something to the leader, too quiet for anyone to hear, and then Tigerstar slit his throat and let the warrior bleed to death right there in the clearing.

"This serves as a warning to all the rest of you. Don't make the same mistake this traitor did."

Longtail drug his body out of camp and dumped it somewhere to rot, or perhaps in the river; there was no way it was a proper burial.

Everyone knew, right then, that we had made a mistake. Fireheart's last words echoed in my head. _You will regret this. One of these days, you will need me. I don't know why or when, but you will._ He was right; we did regret it then, and the day had finally come where we needed him. I don't know _how_ I know, but I just do. I know that he's the only one who can save our clan.

**Oh hey, look, a chapter with content actually relevant to the plot. That hasn't happened in about a month.**

**So in case you were wondering, this is what's been happening back in Thunderclan while Fireheart is away. Don't worry, still the same old evil cruel Tigerstar we all know and love. And for those who couldn't tell, this was me experimenting with point of view, shifting from 3rd person to Whitestorm narrating. Don't ask me how he knows he's telling a story to someone, he just does.**

**Still want people to look at the other storyline for this (fanfic won't let me post a link so just get through my profile). It has, what, 1/5 of the views this does? That plot doesn't deserve to be lonely. I personally like it better than this one from an author's standpoint, anyway.**


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